Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon has strong reaction to 'shocking' Mikko Rantanen trade

The Colorado Avalanche were involved in one of the NHL's biggest recent blockbusters on Friday night when they sent star forward Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes as part of a three-team trade that brought them forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury.

They played their first game after the trade on Saturday afternoon, dropping a 3-1 decision to the Boston Bruins.

After that game, Avalanche players finally had a chance to publicly react to the trade, and the team's best player, Nathan MacKinnon, had one of the stronger reactions. 

MacKinnon called the trade "shocking," before adding “I never thought in a million years he would leave. So yeah, it just sucks. ... It’s just unfortunate, losing a great friend, a great teammate, I’m going to miss him."

Shocking is a good way to describe it, because trades like this do not typically happen between Stanley Cup contenders in the middle of the season.

Rantanen has not only been a longtime member of the Avalanche's core — helping the team win the 2021-22 Stanley Cup — he is also one of the NHL's best offensive players. As of Saturday, he was sixth in the NHL scoring race and is a top-five scorer in the league over the past five seasons. 

He is also still under the age of 30 and in what should be the prime of his career.

Players like this do not typically get traded. 

Especially not from contenders in the middle of a season. 

But with Rantanen set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season, and with the Avalanche not sure they would have the salary-cap space to match his demands, they opted to trade him for two players in Necas and Drury who not only have smaller salaries but are also under team control beyond this season. Necas is also a legit top-line player and is on pace for more than 90 points this season. 

It gives the Avalanche some short-term (and long-term) salary-cap flexibility, while they also acquired two middle-round draft picks in the deal that can be used as trade bait. 

From a hockey standpoint, there is a chance this all works out long-term.

In a more short-term outlook, however, it is fair to wonder how much a trade like this can impact the locker room. Rantanen has been a key player and a leader for years, and he had a close relationship with the team's core. That is a lot to replace and a big change for a team in the middle of a playoff race.